Students against proposed changes to university admission

A call for a complete overhaul of the way students are assessed for university entrance has received little support among university students.

By BARBARA LEGASPI

Many students would support “improvements” to the current ATAR system, but are opposed to radical changes that have been proposed to revamp university admission.

In a recent submission to the Federal Government's review of the national curriculum, independent school principals proposed dumping the reliance on an ATAR score in favour of a resume that looks at students’ aptitude, character and community engagement as well as school marks.

“The time has come for Australian universities and schools to consider a more multi-sided measure of student aptitude for post-school pathways,” the chair of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), Phillip Heath, said.

[audio wav="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/mojo/files/2014/04/Vox-Pox.wav"][/audio]

Speakers: Katelyn McQuiggan, Paul Leffler, Brittany Fisher, Jack Hanson and Sharon Kishida.

But Monash and Deakin university students asked about the changes think the current system is fair and the new system would “be an excuse” for students who are less academic.

Monash engineering student Jack Hanson said that “people would be more motivated to apply for uni, especially the ones that are less academic based, and solely into sports” if the proposal was implemented.

“But I feel it is a bit of an excuse for people (who aren’t as academically driven), it shows a lack of effort and commitment,” he said.

HARD WORK GETS RESULTS

First-year Deakin student Katelyn McQuiggan said she thought  standardised testing was integral to Australia's education system.

“People who do work hard get good results, so I think if people don’t want to work hard, they’d probably prefer (the proposal), but if you put the work in, it prepares you for uni in the future,” she said.

Monash business/Law student Paul Leffler said amendments to the current system were needed, but the overall system was fair.

“I wouldn’t recommend the change, I like the current system,” he said. “I don’t like the way people can do two second languages and not have to do a first language,” he said.

“I don’t like the way some subjects are marked up so high and others are marked down, they should probably change that around, but overall I think the current system is pretty fair at measuring how you are compared to everyone else in Australia.” The AHISA, which represents 421 schools across the country,  called on the curriculum review to cut the ties between admission and the Australia Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) and the Universities Admission Index (UAI).

The submission calls for an “internationally recognised national credential for university entry”.

POOR MEASURE

Mr Heath, the principal of Barker College in Sydney, said the UAI, with the exception of the highest scores, was a poor measure for predicting overall student performance at tertiary level.

“We need to include evidence of character, attitudes to service and community engagement. These qualities stand with evidence of intellectual capacity to provide a more fitting picture of the merit of students,” he said.

Mr Heath said that the penultimate and final years of high school become a “game to secure the highest scores”.

The proposal would mirror systems used in British and American universities, which include an interview process, application essays and reference letters.

The review was called in January by Education Minister Christopher Pyne and is being conducted by former teacher and ex-Liberal Party staffer Kevin Donnelly and academic Kenneth Wiltshire. Submissions have closed and a report back to the government is expected by midyear.